In an age in which the political Religious Right seems to have all but taken over the government, the work of maintaining separation of church and state is critical. This week on State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s radio show and podcast, we will take a look at recent victories for genuine religious liberty and find out what’s just over the horizon.
It’s only October, but for some the so-called “War on Christmas” has already begun. At the Values Voter Summit this past weekend, President Trump declared it time to start saying “Merry Christmas” again. He’s the first sitting president to address the annual gathering of the Religious Right. Former White House advisor Steve Bannon also made appearances. Host Rev. Welton Gaddy will speak with Peter Montgomery, senior fellow at People for the American Way, who was at the summit and will give us a behind the scenes look at what happened there.
Theologian, activist and public speaker Brian McLaren will join Welton this week to talk about his most recent book, The Great Spiritual Migration: How the World’s Largest Religion is Seeking a Better Way to be Christian, which was just released in paperback. They’ll talk about the state of Christianity, and what’s changed since Brian’s book was first published last year.
The Freedom from Religion Foundation is an essential organization in protecting the constitutional principle of church-state separation, and the group has been hard at work in the courts. Dan Barker, the group’s co-president, will be on the show to discuss troubling challenges to the Establishment Clause and why their work is more important than ever.
